Another U.S.S. Indianapolis flick in the works
Looks like the Robert Downey film (below) has some competition. If I were a betting man (and I am), I’d guess Downey’s film makes it while this one rots (Variety)

Tony Scott wants to butcher The Wild Bunch
Not to be outdone by his brother’s late-career hackery (see below), Tony thinks he can take on Sam Friggin’ Peckinpah. Good luck with that, Tone. (Deadline)

Brian DePalma to direct The Key Man
A 70s-style paranoid thriller about “a single father who’s targeted by U.S. government agents because his body contains answers to important national secrets.” The time is right for De Palma to bounce back from the poorly received Redacted and the much-maligned (but containing its share of great stuff) The Black Dahlia. (Deadline)

Abigail Breslin signs up for The Class Project: How to Kill a Mother
The true story of a couple of Canadian sisters who plot to murder their mother and her abusive boyfriend. Based on the 2008 book by Bob Mitchell. Little Miss Murdershine. (Variety – firewall)

Ridley Scott signs up for another Blade Runner
With all the excitement over the director’s re-plowing of the Alien fields, I suppose this was inevitable. What is also inevitable is the year or two of annoying speculation and fake secrecy about what this is all going to amount to, if anything. All that’s known at this point is that Scott has signed on to direct and produce a “new installment” of Blade Runner with Alcon Entertainment, the people behind The Blind Side. I know! The Blade Side! Deckard takes in an orphaned replicant with a gift for football… (Deadline)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu attached to revenge flick The Revenant
It’s based on Michael Punke’s novel about a wounded trapper who seeks revenge after he’s robbed and abandoned. (Wrap)

Robert Downey Jr. to produce drama about USS Indianapolis
To the extent that most folks are aware of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis as it was carrying parts for the atomic bomb during World War II, it’s probably because of that scene in Jaws where Quint regales Brody and Hooper with his story of the cruiser’s sinking and subsequent shark attack – to this day the largest loss of life in a single US Navy incident. The ship’s captain was later court-martialed for failing to take proper actions leading up to the ship’s sinking by Japanese torpedoes. In the mid-90s, an 11-year-old helped uncover evidence that the captain had been unjustly convicted. Unfortunately the dude had shot himself in the head with his Navy-issue revolver on his front lawn in 1968. (THR)

Yes, Alien and Blade Runner are classics and nothing can take that away from Ridley, but these projects fill me with dread. I may have to eat my words at some point and there are reasons to be optimistic about Prometheus, but the pattern that is developing here is not encouraging.

I didn’t know anything beyond the title of Prometheus. But now that I’ve looked into it I see that we’re not going to get a conventional prequel to Alien. As more of a standalone film it sounds interesting and I’d love to see 3D used in a hopefully more adult SciFi movie. As much as I loved the immersive spectacle of Avatar, the story was predictable and the characterizations thin.

Apparently Jessica Chastain will be in every single film that is released in the next year. She really took advantage of the long post-production for Tree of Life.

I can kinda get behind Prometheus because the Alien series is ripe for multiple installments of narrative. I’ve enjoyed all the Alien films to different extents, so I don’t really begrudge that. But Ridley Scott taking this project on reeks of desperation, considering he hasn’t had anything close to a hit since Black Hawk Down. And now revisiting Blade Runner, because Blade Runner is a film begging to have a sequel/prequel/whatever (sarcasm alert!).

It just sounds a lot like a director who has lost touch with his own career looking for a hit to sustain himself, which is sad. And it’s yet another chapter in Hollywood’s long tale of being utterly terrified of new ideas.

Avatar wasn’t great, but at least it was something completely new. Gotta give Cameron credit for not simply making an Aliens or Terminator or True Lies sequel/prequel/whatever.

Actually, Scott’s talked about the possibility of another “Blade Runner” movie for a long time now, at least since the time of the first “Director’s Cut” back in ’92. Back then, his musings were that it would be interesting to follow Deckard later on, and explore the ideas of immortality with a Replicant without an incep-date. Of course. I don’t think Ford is involved in this, so it probably won’t work out like that. But having read Dick’s book, I’ve always thought there’s plenty of room left to explore. Scott’s film basically ignores a very huge portion of the book’s plot revolving around a drug/television religion, to say nothing of the whole animal aspect everyone knows about.

Sartre, yes I’ve warmed up to Prometheus. I don’t give a shit where the “space jockey” came from though and I keep hearing that idea kicked around. I don’t remember now if that’s official or if it’s just more fanboy wankery. You’re probably more up to date on it than I am. If it’s just a totally separate movie that happens to have an alien or aliens in it who are the same kind of nasty creatures from the original film, then sign me up.

Joel, she’s in 3 movies this year alone that I can count because one was made a few years back and got put on the shelf until she started hitting it big. at least I THINK Jolene was released this year. Also, she’s in Coriolanus which is coming up I think before the end of the year and she’s also in Take Shelter which I think is coming in October. Anyway. She did a nice job in The Help in a character that was the polar opposite of her character in Tree of Life.

Bob, Ridley has talked about a lot of things for a long time over the years. Hell, he threatened to make that goddamn Monopoly movie. The thing about the movie Blade Runner for me is that it’s a marvel of mood and production design and acting and style more than one of plot. I mean, the story is fine, but for me it’s not the drawing point. Plus any attempt to go back and revisit past glories comes off a little crass to me. Good things may come of it, but I’m going to remain skeptical until I hear more.